The current Hondius Water system relies on infrastructure that is over a century old, including water tanks within the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park, which are allowed under a lease with the Park running through 2031. There is no guarantee that the Park Service will continue to allow the reservoir to remain in the Park after that time. Additionally, as the system was built as a private water system about 100 years ago, no hydrants exist in the area and water must be trucked in from elsewhere to fight fires.
The system of pipes that runs from the reservoir to Upper High Drive (now Penstemon) and then veers to the south past Tanager Road and eventually hooks into the Town of Estes Park’s water system at the intersection of Larkspur Lane and Larkspur Road. The pipes from around Laurel Lane to the west are buried no more than a foot deep, so service is only provided on this section of the line from around April 15th to October 15th. The line from Laurel to the connection with the Town was replaced/established in 1996 as a result of RMNP no longer allowing Hondius to obtain its water from a location within the Park. Accordingly, per Ed Hartsook, the long-time caretaker of the Hondius system, a 4 inch PVC line was put in at a required depth of 4-5 feet due to the pressure on this lower end of the system, to make sure that it would stay in the ground. As a result, winter service can be provided along this lower end of the line, which is below the “Blue Line”, the elevation below which water can be provided by the Town without use of additional pumps or a water reservoir. The Hondius system uses pumps during the summer to pump water to the water tanks and keep the upper end of the system pressurized. During the winter service period, the tanks are drained and the pumps are turned off and the system runs solely from the pressure to the system provided by the Town’s water system.
The system is currently operated by RH Water and Wastewater, a certified water system operator. Bill Harvey is our local “feet on the ground” monitoring for leaks, reading and replacing meters, etc.